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Public Transport in Wiltshire - the way forward

Update - 21st May 2017 - Bus services Bill became Bus Services Act at the start of the month; new cabinet portfolio holder for highways and transport appointed shortly after local elections on 4th May. Many services to be retendered this summer / autumn, with operating contracts for supported services to run from January 2018. Watch this space for an update before the first weekend in June; we are meeting council officers next week.

Update - 8th October 2016 - Wilsthire Council has decided to cut £500k from next year's bus budget rather than five times that amount which was their least draconian financial option in the consultation. Excellent news; perhaps not sustainable to future years, but a real window of opportunity which possibility they acknowledge in their reports. See [here] for initial links and info.

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The "bus consultation" has closed (4 April 2016). A big THANK YOU to everyone who responded, whether or not you supported the option 247 proposals on this web site. We understand there have been over 10,000 11,500 responses, confirming how important public transport is to people.

If you missed the consultation, don't worry. There have been sufficient inputs to ensure that Option 24/7 is carefully considered over the next weeks, with the option 24/7 team looking to assist Wiltshire Council in the evaluation. Please feel free to join the option247 facebook group, or to sign up via 'contact us' page.

We're not calling on you to shout your support for Option 247 this month (May 2016). We don't want you to get "campaign fatigue". We want you to keep fresh so that you can help us later on. Wiltshire Council has a positive window of opportunity as it reviews and amends the public transport provision in the county - and a very interested community in helping them do so in a way that's positive for us all.

Update Mid May - the Bus Services Bill has been published and appears to be very much in line (as widely predicted) with Option 24/7. We are reading into this and briefing as appropriate.

Text of this page to 4th April 2016

We encourage respondents to the Wiltshire Council's bus subsidy consultation to request the council to take a look at the complete public transport network and not only at what's needed on the individual branch line routes. We believe there is a more advantageous alternative, and have called this "Option 24/7".

There are significant council subsidy savings to be made in each of the areas that you are being asked to comment on. But these savings are not made by cutting routes and services in isolation from each other, which is the gist of the questions being asked on the consultation. Rather, by looking at a total transport -- an integrated network and quality scheme that is already used in some areas -- existing resources can be used better. And a better system and network will help fill empty seats. We ask you to say "no" to isolationist cuts and write in your preference for a better scheme: Option 24/7 Case Outline.

This option is supported by Chippenham MP Michelle Donelan, and is in line with the buses bill proposals due next month. It is not offered as an option on the consultation because that consultation was based on work started in May 2015, before there was a likelihood of government action to resolve constraints that now force our local council to consider unprofitable bus routes in isolation from profitable commercial ones.

Learn About Options

The Wiltshire Council subsidised bus consultation ran until 4th April 2016 and archive copies can be found on our links page. Read the government's proposal as it currently stands: First draft. Take a look at Michelle Donelan's thoughts on Option 24/7: Chippenham MP's response.

Our Recommended Action

If you support the suggestions from Michelle Donelan MP, from central government, and from ourselves, we suggested consultation responses that include your indication of that support in answer to question 25. Enough people did so (thank you) for our suggestion to come to the notice of the consultation team.

Let Us Know Your Interest

We want to hear from you too. Please fill in our form to let us know your thoughts, suggestions, and if you responded to the council's bus subsidy consultation. Response Form

Spread the Word

Please ask your friends, family, colleagues and fellow travellers to take an interest too! If you're in any doubt about something, please use the contact form to get in touch; we'll be happy to answer you by email, or on Facebook or Twitter. And if your question has common interest, we'll add it to our Frequently Asked Questions.

Subsidy List, FAQ and Bus Route Maps

This page is brought to you by the same community team who have worked hard for an improved TransWilts train service - with some success. Passenger journeys up from 18,000 per annum in 2012 to 183,400 (that's ten fold) in 2014 with 2015 estimated not too far short of a quarter of a million.